Murder of VW- part 2
by Vince1976
Summary: While investigating Victoria White s murder DI Lewis and DS Hathaway discover secrets about the victim. Things go really wrong when the detectives try to bring their main suspect in for Victoria s murder.


I don't own Inspector Lewis

Chapter One

Paul White sat in office with a satisfied grin on his face. He had just got rid of his blackmailing sister. He opened his desk dware and took out a letter. It was from his sister saying she knew about his illegal business dealings and if he did not give her money she was going to the local press. Paul put the letter back when his secretary buzzed his office.

"Mr White" she said, "The police are here to talk to you sir"

"Okay send them in Sally" Paul said.

Paul came around the desk to greet the two detectives who walked into his office.

"Inspector Lewis and Sergeant Hathaway" Paul said shaking hands with both detectives "What can I do for you?"

"We have some more questions for you" Lewis said.

"I told you everything last night"

"No quit everything sir. You seemed rather nervous last night"

"Nervous? Of course not"

"We need the truth Mr White"

Paul sighed and sat down at his desk.

"As you know my sister has been very ill" Paul said "I was worried because I had found a letter from Victoria saying she was going to kill herself. I went into the study because I knew that was where Carl kept a gun. I was making sure it was still there. I panicked when I could not find it"

"So the gun was missing when you went to check?" Lewis said.

"Yes. I went to find Victoria because she seemed to have disappeared. I ran outside as soon as I heard the gunshot fearing she had shot herself"

Lewis raised an eyebrow. Something seemed a little off.

"Why would she go outside to shoot herself?" he asked "I would think she would have done it in a more private place"

"I have no idea Inspector" Paul said "Are you saying it was not suicide?"

"We suspect she was shot by someone at the party or by someone who somehow got onto the property"

"Murder?"

"It looks that way"

Paul briefly closed his eyes.

"I think you should talk to Brain Victoria's sister's husband" he said "Carl recently told me he found out he was fooling around with his wife"

Brain Smith was shocked when he found the police on his doorstep. He knew it was about Victoria. Brain also knew they probably already found out about his affair with Victoria. He led the detectives to the living room and sat nervously across from Lewis and looked at his fingernails.

"I have a good idea why you are here Inspector," he said looking everywhere but at Lewis.

"You were having an affair with Victoria am I right sir?" Lewis asked.

"Yes we were seeing each other. I knew it was wrong. I hated hurting my wife but it just happened"

"How long had you been seeing Victoria"

"She turned to me when she first learned she was sick four months ago and things went from there"

Brain again was interested in his fingernails and he went red with shame.

"You told us you went out to get something from your car" Lewis said.

"Yes sir" Brain said.

"Then you came back to the house and you looked very angry. What were you angry about?"

"Paul confronted me. He said he knew about my affair with Victoria and he would tell my wife everything"

Lewis exchanged a glance with his sergeant. Paul had told them he had run outside when he heard the gunshot. It looked as though Paul had lied.

"Paul told us he had been worried about Victoria and was looking for her," the sergeant told Brain.

"Why would he have been worried?" Brain said, "Paul only cares about one thing and that is Paul"

"Victoria planned on killing herself"

"Oh god. I had no idea she was that unhappy. You see Inspector I broke off our affair"

"When was this?" Lewis asked.

"A few days before the dinner party" Brian said.

The two detectives were puzzled. Why did Victoria decide to kill herself?

Chapter Two

When the detectives got back to the office Lewis turned to James.

"James" he said, "I want you to dig up everything you can on Paul. Something about him does not seem right. He lied to us for a reason and I want to know why"

"Yes sir" James said, "Am I looking for anything in particular?"

"Everything. His friends, family, where he went to school, where he grew up, where he worked before ect. Also look for anything suspicious"

"Yes sir"

Lewis turned and walked out of the office.

"Where are you going sir?" James asked.

"I am going to talk to Carl some more" Lewis said.

"DCS Innocent is not going to like that sir"

"I do not care James. This is a murder investigation. Everyone is a suspect. After I talk to Carl I am going to talk with Violet. I want to know if she knew about her husband's affair with her sister"

"What should I tell Innocent if she asks where you are?"

"Just tell her I am out following a lead James"

Lewis turned and left the office.

Carl was annoyed when he answered the door. He did not look too happy to see Inspector Lewis on his doorstep. It looked like he had been crying. There was red around his eyes.

"What are you doing here Inspector?" he demanded, "I have to make arrangements for my wife's funeral. Now is not a good time"

"I have some important questions to ask you Carl" Lewis said "I am sorry to bother you at this difficult time but this is a murder investigation"

"Does your boss know you are here Inspector?"

"No. Look I really need to talk to you"

Carl looked behind Lewis as though he was looking for something or someone.

"Where is your sergeant Inspector?" he asked, "I thought you two were joined at the hip"

"He is looking into something for me" Lewis said "Is there anywhere we can go to talk in private?"

Carl led Lewis to his study. Lewis sensed the mood in the house. It was quiet dark. Carl went behind his desk and pointed to a chair inviting Lewis to sit.

"Now what is it that is so important that you had to bother me?" Carl asked.

"Is it true your wife wad having an affair?" Lewis asked.

Carl's eyes suddenly had sparks in them.

"Yes" he said "She was having an affair with her sister's husband"

"Did you know about the affair?" Lewis asked.

"I just found out about it recently"

"Did you see them together?"

"No. I heard my wife talking on the phone with someone"

"Brain"

"Yes"

"What did you do?"

"I confronted my wife"

"What did she say?"

"She practully laughed in my face"

"That must have made you angry"

"You can say that"

"Angry enough to killer her?"

Carl jumped to his feet his face red with rage.

"I did not kill my wife Inspector!" he cried.

Lewis saw he hit a nerve.

"Do not go anywhere Carl," he said, "We may talk to you again"

Violet was in her garden when Lewis came walking through the back gate. She stood up when she saw him approach.

"Inspector" she said, "What can I do for you?"

"We need to talk" Lewis said, "It is important"

"Does it have something to do with my sister's death?"

"You can say that"

Violet looked around nervously.

"What is it Inspector?" she asked.

"Can we sit?" Lewis said.

Violet walked over to two lawn chairs and sat down. Lewis joined her.

"What is it Inspector?" Violet asked.

"I have something to ask you and it may be upsetting" Lewis said as gently as he could.

"Whatever it is I think I can handle it"

Lewis took a deep breath.

"It has come to my attention that your sister was having an affair," Lewis said. The DI was surprised by Violet's reaction.

"Carl told you that am I right," Violet said laughing softly.

"Carl did not tell me about the affair" Lewis said "I heard it from Paul"

"Paul?"

"Yes. He claims that Carl told him"

Violet stood up.

"Why would Carl go and see Paul?" Violet asked.

"It is possible he was going to file for divorce?" Lewis suggested.

"Or he was planning on killing her. Victoria came to me scared. She told me Carl thought she was having an affair and she was convinced he was going to kill her. I even suggested she report it to the police"

Lewis remembered when DCS Innocent introduced him to Victoria. He also remembered James had been suspicious of her story. Could it be possible Victoria lied to her sister to stop her from finding out that she was having an affair with Brian? Did Violet suspect her sister was having an affair with her husband?

"Did you know your sister was cheating on her husband?" Lewis asked.

"No" Violet said "I thought it was just Carl raving when Victoria told me"

Violet quickly looked at the ground. Her face blushed a deep red. Lewis noticed but did not say anything. The woman was hiding something that was obvious but what?

"Thank you Violet" Lewis said standing up "I will be in touch"

Chapter Three

Matt Brown lit a match and threw it into the fireplace. He watched as the flames burned the photographs.

"What in the world are you doing?" a voice from behind him in alarm. Matt turned around and saw his father come running into the room and kneel in front of the fireplace trying to rescues the pictures. He did not say anything but watched his father coldly.

"Are you crazy?" Carl cried.

"I was just trying to protect my stepmother's reputation" Matt said, "No one should know about her past"

"It looks to me like you are getting rid of evidence. Maybe you killed her"

"I did not kill Victoria"

"If you did not kill her then why are you burning these photographs?"

Matt turned and looked out the window.

"You always hated Victoria" Carl snapped, "I should turn you over to the police"

"Try it old man" Matt sneered, "If anyone is the top suspect it is you"

Carl picked up the phone and dialled the station's number.

A few hours later Matt was sitting in the interview room. He just sat in silence. After several minutes had passed Lewis sighed with frustration.

"Matt" he said, "It is not going to help if you just sit here saying nothing"

"I was not doing anything wrong" Matt said, "I was just getting rid of some old photographs"

"By burning them?"

"I know what you are thinking but I swear to you I was just protecting my stepmother's memory"

"What was in those photographs that made you want to get rid of them?"

Matt looked away a little embarrassed.

"They were pictures of Victoria when she was younger" Matt said, "They were from a time when she was a party girl"

"I take it your stepmother did not look good in them" Lewis said.

"She put those pictures in the attic as soon as she married my Dad. She never ever wanted those photographs to ever get out"

"How did you get on with your stepmother? Were you close?"

"Not really. We had not talked for twenty years. When I found out she was sick I came to make amends. I knew I would not have a chance later"

Lewis sighed again. Matt had a good heart. Even though Matt was not that close to Victoria he did not have any real reason to kill her. There was hope the answer was in her past. It was something they needed to look into.

Lewis found James working on his computer when he walked into the office.

"How did the interview with Matt go?" James asked not looking up.

"I do not think Matt killed his stepmother James" Lewis said "He just wanted to make up with his stepmother before she died. He burned those pictures because he wanted to protect her"

"Could he be laying sir? He did not see or speak to his family for years. There has to be a reason for that"

"You may be right James but is the secret really something Matt would have killed his stepmother over?"

James looked up from his computer.

"By the way sir Innocent was looking for you" James said.

"What now?" Lewis groaned.

"She wants to know what you found out from your interview with Matt"

"Nothing"

"DCS Innocent wanted to know if you were going to charge him with murder"

Lewis's eyes grew huge.

"Does Innocent think Matt is guilty?" Lewis asked.

"I think she just wants this case closed ASAP" James said.

Lewis just shocks his head.

"I do not believe this" he said, "She just does not want her friend's husband to be guilty. Right now he may be our top suspect"

"Innocent would not like that sir"

"I do not care"

This was not good. It looked like their boss was trying to protect a possible murderer.

Chapter Four

Lewis stayed late in the office trying to find anything on Victoria. He was sure some of the answers came from her past. Matt burned those pictures to protect her for a reason. Suddenly the phone rang. It was Paul White.

"Inspector" Paul said, "I need to speak to you"

"It is late Paul" Lewis said yawning, "Can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"Sorry Inspector but I need to talk to you now"

Sighing Lewis asked where they were to meet.

"Meet me at my office in half an hour" Paul said.

Lewis hung up the phone. He did not like the idea meeting Paul in the middle of the night. Something was not right. Whatever Paul had to say could wait until morning. Lewis knew he had to be cautious. He picked up the phone and called his sergeant.

"James meet me at Paul's office" Lewis said.

"Is there a problem sir?" James asked concerned.

"Paul called me and wanted to talk"

"In the middle of the night? I do not like this sir"

"Neither do I James. Meet me there. I am going to meet Paul and I am going to bring some PC`s with me"

Lewis knew he was taking a risk meeting Paul but if he had some information that could help with the case Lewis had to know.

The lights were off when Lewis arrived at Paul's office. It looked like no one was there. The Inspector entered the office and turned on the lights. The office was empty.

"I do not like this" Lewis said aloud to himself. If Paul was in the building he could be somewhere hurt. Lewis tuned to the three PC`s who came with him.

"Search the building" he said "Paul must be around her somewhere and if Sergeant Hathaway arrives tell him I am in Paul's office"

"Yes sir" the three PC`s said.

Lewis looked around the office. There seemed to be nothing of interest. In the corner of the office were a couple of filing cabinets. The only things on the desk were some family photos and coffee mug that held several pens. There was nothing in the desk there were several pads of paper. Lewis was closing a desk dware when James cames walking in.

"Where is Paul?" James asked looking around the office.

"He was not here when I arrived" Lewis said "PC`s are looking for him now"

"If he came here at all. I just do not trust him. I think it was wise to suggest looking into his past"

"You think he is a suspect?"

"We have to consider the possibility sir. Maybe he and Carl were in it together"

"We will not know for sure until we question him again"

"If we find him"

Just then James spotted a figure out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey you" James called out and gave chase followed by Lewis. By the time the inspector caught up with his sergeant James had Paul by the arm.

""Paul" Lewis said, "I think we need to have another little chat"

Paul just glared at the DI.

"We can do it here or down at the station" Lewis said "Your choice"

Paul remained quiet.

"Alright" Lewis said making the decision for Paul "James take him to the station and put him in an interview room. I will meet you there"

Chapter Five

Lewis rubbed his tired eyes. He had been sitting in an interview room with Paul for the last four hours. So far Paul had not said very much. James came into the room with three coffees. He placed one down in front of Lewis and one in front of Paul. Lewis said thank you as his sergeant sat down next to him. Paul stayed silent.

"Paul" Lewis said for like the hundredth time "You called to meet me at your office and when I get there the place is dark and you are not there. When we do spot you you try to run. Why?"

"I told you" Paul said annoyed "I did what anyone would do if they spotted coppers"

"You knew I was going to be there unless there was another reason you ran"

"No there wasn't"

"What did you want to tell me Paul?"

"It is not important now"

"Paul"

Paul just stared at a point on the far wall. Lewis grounded his teeth in frustration. James picked up the questioning.

"Paul if you know something you better tell us now" James said.

"It is not important" Paul repeated.

"Let us the judge of that. Now what did you want to see Inspector Lewis for?"

"It is nothing"

Lewis took a sip of coffee and leaned forward so he was practically nose-to-nose with Paul.

"You wanted to talk to me for a reason" Lewis said "You would not waste my time calling me in the middle of the night to bring me down to your office. Now what is it that is so important?"

"It has to do with Carl" Paul said "He told me about his plan to kill his wife and her lover"

"When did he tell you his plan?"

"A few days before the dinner party. I tried to talk him out of it but he forced me to help him"

"What did he want you to do?"

"He told me to take his gun and set a trap for Victoria and Brain. He wanted me to make it look like an accident"

Lewis sat back in silence.

"So he could keep his hands clean and no one would be the wiser" James said.

"That is about it" Paul said.

Lewis looked like he did not quiet believe Paul's story.

"Why you Paul?" Lewis asked.

"What do you mean?" Paul said.

"Why did Carl ask you to do it?"

"I do not know he just did"

Lewis sighed.

"There is something not right about your story Paul" Lewis said, "We need to ask Carl his side of the story. Do not go far. We will talk to you again"

Chapter Six

DCS Innocent glared at the two detectives in front of her. The theory they had just told her sounded to ridiculous to be true.

"Lewis of all the things you have come up with this has to be the most stupidest theory yet," she said.

"Ma`m" Lewis said, "Victoria was having an affair, her husband found out about it and then he made Paul set up her murder"

"You had your top suspect right in front of you and you let him go. Matt hated Victoria and he was seen burning those photographs"

"Ma`m" James said carefully "We understand that Victoria was a friend of yours but is it possible that she lied to everyone?"

"James I have know Victoria for a long time"

"How well did you know her ma`m?" Lewis asked.

Innocent's gaze went cold and her eyes became pure ice.

"You be quiet Inspector" she said her voice growing hard "You get out there and bring Matt in and none of these wild theories. Do you understand me!"

"Yes ma`m" Lewis said.

"Good. Now the two of you get going!"

As they left the office Lewis turned to James and said:

"We are not going to bother Matt again James. We are going to have a little chat with Carl"

"Sir"

"Innocent has to see that her friend was not as pure as she appeared to be"

Carl did not offer any resistance when he was brought to the station. He knew he had to come clean about his plan. He sat in the interview room for an hour coming up with his own version of events that he hoped sounded convincing.

Chapter Seven

Carl sat in the interview room going over what he was going to say when Lewis interviewed him. He knew Paul had told the Inspector about their plan but probably twisted it. After an hour Lewis came in with his sergeant and sat down. The DI did not say anything for a good ten minutes making Carl nervous. Finally Lewis spoke.

"Some interesting information has come to light Carl since the last time we spoke" Lewis said "According to Paul you forced him to kill your wife and her lover is that correct?"

Carl gripped the table until his knuckles were white.

"If Paul told you that then he is lying," Carl said, "He was the one who came up with the plan to kill Victoria and Brain"

"Why would Paul suggest murder?"

"I have no idea Inspector. Maybe Paul had his own reasons for wanting Victoria dead"

"Did he tell you his reasons?"

"No"

James spoke up.

"Did your wife ever tell you she suspected Paul was up to something?" he asked.

"She might have" Carl said, "I remember one evening awhile back Victoria came to me upset. She told me she discovered something about Paul and his law practice"

"What did she tell you?"

"She was so upset she just was not making much sense. I told her she was must have misread the situation"

"How did she react?"

"Victoria became extremely angry and just left the house and went for a drive. I never seen her like that before"

"Did she ever mention what had upset her to you again?" Lewis asked.

"She did tell me she was going to report him," Carl said

"Report him?"

"Yes. Victoria suspected Paul was doing something unethical maybe illegal"

Later in the office Lewis and James were discussing what they had learned during their interview with Carl. From what Carl had told them Paul seemed to have some dark secrets. Carl also told them Victoria was going to expose him. The big question on both detectives' minds was Victoria killed because she knew what Paul secret was? It gave the DI and sergeant something else to look into. Paul and Carl were on the top of their suspect list.

"James we need to dig deeper into Paul's past and try to find out what Victoria had on him" Lewis said.

"You think Victoria knew something sir?" James asked looking up from the report he was typing.

"Yes I do. It struck me as odd that she would get so upset unless it was something bad"

"So Carl is off our suspect list"

"No way James. I still consider him a suspect. He could still have killed Victoria because of her affair with Brian and maybe for some other reason"

"Like what sir?"

"I do not know but I will continue to look into her background. Matt burned those pictures for a reason"

James stopped typing.

"What about DCS Innocent sir?" he asked.

"What about her?" Lewis said.

"What are you going to tell her when she asks why you did not bring Matt in for questioning?"

"Good question James"

Lewis knew he would have to face his boss's anger sooner or later. Solving this case was becoming a real pain in the butt.

Chapter Eight

Violet was cleaning her husband's study when she found s series of envelops in his desk. They were tied together with a pink ribbon. Violet let her curiosity get the better of her and she untied the ribbon. She opened the first envelope. It was a letter to Brain from her sister and it sounded more then just friendly. Feeling rage build inside herself Violet opened the next letter and read. When she got to the last one something caught her eye. Victoria mentioned something about Paul. From what Violet could make out Victoria discovered that Paul was doing some things that appeared to be unethical or against the law. Violet took the letter and headed to the police station.

DCS Innocent cornered violet in the hallway on her way to Lewis's office. The DCS was puzzled as to why Violet was at the police station and needed to see DI Lewis.

"Does this have something to do with your step-nephew?" Innocent asked.

"No ma`m" Violet said, "I have to speak to Inspector Lewis concerning my husband and sister"

"What is this about?"

"I found some letters from Victoria to my husband and they are more then friendly letters"

"What do you mean?"

"Inspector Lewis was right that my sister was having an affair and it turns out with my husband"

Innocent remembered what Lewis said to her in her office. He told Innocent that maybe Victoria had been lying to everyone. If these letters did prove that Victoria was having an affair she owed DI Lewis a huge apology.

"Can I see the letters please?" she asked Violet.

Violet handed the letters to Innocent who went to her office and sat down to read them. Violet sat down in the chair on the other side of the desk. After a few minutes Innocent looked up and called to a PC in the hallway.

"Send for DI Lewis please" she said.

"Yes ma`m" the PC said and went in search of the DI. Innocent sighed. She could just imagine the look of triumph on the Inspector's face.

Chapter Nine

Lewis tried not to say Ì told you so` during his meeting with DCS Innocent even though he was tempted to. After the meeting Lewis continued to look into Victoria's past. Later the DI planned to go and ask Brain about the notes. James had gone to get the forensic report on the gun. After two hours James came back with a look of triumph on his face.

"Sir" he said "The CSI`s found finger prints on the gun and you never guess who they belong to"

Lewis looked up and smiled.

"I am guessing James that they belong to Carl" Lewis said.

"You are correct sir. Should we go and bring him in for questioning?"

"Not yet. The fingerprints are not enough to go on. We need more evidence"

"Sir the finger prints prove he fired the gun"

"We do not have a motive yet James" Lewis said.

"I thought Victoria having an affair was the motive," James said.

"It may be part of it but I feel there is more. I have been digging into Victoria's past and you will not believe what I found"

James came over and looked over his DI`s shoulder. There was an article about Victoria being arrested for prostitution. Besides prostitution there was drug charges, breaking and entering and vandalism.

"Sir do you suspect Carl knew about this?" James asked.

"He might have known about this or he found out about his wife's past" Lewis said.

"The question is sir did Carl kill his wife because of her past"

"We will get the answer to that question when we question Carl again"

DCS Innocent did not object to Lewis questioning Carl again. She told Lewis she wanted in on the interview herself.

When Lewis and James went to bring Carl in for questioning they found out that Carl had disappeared. A few days later the word was that Carl had locked himself in his house and refused to come out. Lewis and James went to reason with Carl and that was when things went really wrong.

Chapter Ten

James barley noticed the ambulance arrive. His focus was on the man in handcuffs being led to a police car. Carl Brown looked really nervous and very scared. The sergeant started in Carl's direction only to be stopped by DCS Innocent.

"No James" Innocent said firmly.

"That bastard shot DI Lewis ma`m" James snapped, "Let me deal with him"

"This is neither the time nor place Sergeant. We will deal with Carl soon enough. Our focus right now should be on DI Lewis"

James collapsed in DCS Innocent's grasp. He knew she was right. It would not do anyone any favours if he attacked Carl. Lewis would have told him that. The sergeant looked over to where Lewis was being loaded into the ambulance.

"I want to go to the hospital ma`m" he said.

"Of course James" Innocent said, "You should go. I will deal with things at the station"

James went over and climbed into the ambulance. The ride to the hospital seemed endless to James. He talked to Lewis all the way to the hospital.

"It is okay sir" he said "I am right here. You are going to make it. I know you are"

Even as he said that James was not so sure. Things looked grim for the Inspector. He flat lined twice on the way to the hospital. The sergeant did something he rarely did. He prayed for Lewis's recovery.

END OF PART TWO


End file.
